Gears of War: Children of War II
by S1leNt RIP
Summary: The sequel to the first Children of War finds the the teens living a relatively happy life after the destruction of the orphanage. The peace doesn't last long when Cather, an old Cog friend volunteers them to help the COG forces defending Jacinto Med.
1. Chapter 1: Children No Longer

**I don't own Gears or anything, only my characters, blah blah blah. Hope you guys like this, it will undoubtedly be better than the first!**

**If you want to read Children of War I head check the second page of M fanfics (it wont let me post a link)****.**

* * *

Gears of War:

Children of War II

The sounds of giggling and stifled laughter escaped the heavy blankets that covered the mattress on which two individuals were just waking from a nights rest.

The early morning sun streamed in through a window at the far end of the room from the bed. The window was set in a wall of stone and rock that had been laid centuries earlier and was part of a small fort used as a lookout by the small band of Stranded.

A door stood next to the window and suddenly it swung open and in walked a tall young man of about eighteen. He carried two bandoliers of longshot rounds draped over his right shoulder and a box of shotgun shells in his left hand.

The covers pulled back just enough for a head to appear and gaze at the newcomer to the room.

"Daze!" Clara yelled as she threw a pillow at him, "You can't just barge in here without knocking!"

"Hey, the early bird gets the worm!" Daze shot back with a playful smile on his face.

"So I'm guessing Holly 'got the worm' at some ungodly hour this morning?" Clara raised an eyebrow, then suddenly squealed and thrashed around under the covers, "Justin! Stop it! I'm trying to talk!"

Daze laughed. "Maybe, but that's beside the point."

"Well what is the point," Clara giggled as she fended off an unseen force beneath the blankets.

"Cather radioed in this morning," Daze's face and tone took on a note of seriousness, "The COG are beefing up security at Pomeroy Depot, but that means they are pulling troops from Jacinto Med. They needed someone to help look after the hospital so he volunteered us for service."

"So what does that have to do with you barging in here?"

"Chopper's already on it's way," Daze walked to Clara and Justin's makeshift closet and pulled out some clothes, "We need to be ready when it gets here."

"Well make sure we're ready then get the hel…" Clara squealed again in delight then dove under the covers.

Daze chuckled as he dropped a heavy hooded sweatshirt onto the ground along with Justin's shorts. He grabbed a gray, urban camouflaged cloak and dropped it onto Clara's black jeans and gray shirt, then made his way silently out of the room as the playful giggles and laughing shifted into the more serious sounds of lovemaking.

Daze stepped into the cool morning air and looked about him. The sun had just risen over the mountains and it bathed the world in a soft yellow glow. Daze stretched his arms toward the sky then adjusted his scarf as the bitter cold nipped at his nose. He exhaled into the air and watched as the condensation floated off and dissipated in front of him.

Daze turned left and walked passed a large broken pillar. He kept going and found the "door" he was looking for. There was a hole in the wall that served as the entrance and exit from the fort even though the large steel gates stood wide open most of the time.

Daze walked out onto the grass and took in the amazing view before him. Jacinto stood mighty and tall away off on the horizon, standing like a lone guard holding off the water and giving refuge to all who fled there.

Daze was broken from his musings by the sound of running feet. He turned around but saw no one in the opening of the wall. The running stopped. Daze shrugged to himself then started walking out into the field.

A grunt sounded from behind him then a scuffling noise. Daze started to turn but was bowled over by something at his feet. He went rolling into the grass along with the thing that had knocked him over until he ended up on his back looking up at the sky in a daze.

The head of a young woman thrust itself into his vision as he lay there and then Daze felt her straddled his body. She smiled at Daze, her golden locks falling about her face and shining in the warm light of the sun.

"Hey handsome!" Holly smiled as she leaned down and kissed him, "I missed you this morning, where were you?"

Daze returned the kiss and gave her a gentle squeeze. "I went running."

"Well I could've gotten more than your heart rate up!" Holly pressed herself in close as she kissed him again.

"And I thought Clara was horny!" Daze wrapped an arm around Holly's waist and pulled her down into him as she ground her hips against his.

"She just doesn't know how to hide it," Holly rubbed her face against Daze's cheek then rested her head on his shoulder, "So why don't we go back inside and have you warm me up?"

"Not now," Daze said as he pushed Holly up. He got up after her then pulled her close and hugged her, "Carl is coming to pick us up, we need to be ready in about twenty minutes."

"Aww, I was looking forward to a nice quiet day!" Holly stuck out her lower lip and looked at Daze with wide, pouting eyes.

Daze laughed as he pulled her up and swung her around. "I love you so much!"

"Yeah yeah!" Holly's face relaxed into a warm smile as Daze set her down, "But we can't stop inside for even a minute?"

"Only if you don't want breakfast, and I'm pretty hungry! Besides, what could you do in a minute?"

"You'd be surprised," Holly winked seductively as she turned and walked to the wall, "But let's get some food. I'm hungry!"

"As you command, my queen!" Daze bowed low then jogged up and accompanied her to the blockhouse to eat.

Holly and Daze entered the one room building that served as the meeting place for the teens. They walked up to a long, rectangular table and sat down just as Susan and Jordan were pouring reconstituted milk on their cereal.

"You guys ready to go?" Daze asked as he grabbed the bag and poured the cereal into a faded white bowl. He slid the bowl to Holly then poured some for himself

"Yep," Susan replied through a mouthful of cereal and milk. She smiled as she chewed then jerked a thumb towards the door.

Daze looked over and saw a pack of useful supplies. Susan herself was wearing a black windbreaker made of a light material. Over it she wore her usual combat vest. Her legs were covered by baggy gray snow pants, and strapped to these were two snub pistols, each in a holster.

"You're always thinking…"

"Ahead, I know!" Susan cut him off smiling.

"Why do you think I married her?" Jordan smiled as her pulled her next to him.

"Because she's hot?" Daze laughed.

"I meant besides that!" Jordan leaned over and gave Susan a kiss. "I love you so much baby!"

"Wow," Daze laughed as the two kissed again. "It's been six months we can still stand each other!"

"I'm not so sure about that!" Clara said as she walked in the door. "You can be a real handful sometimes!"

Holly stifled a laugh and shot an amused look towards Daze who simply smiled and shook his head.

"So are you two ready?" Daze asked as Clara sat down and quickly fixed a bowl for her self.

"Just about." Clara smiled as she stuffed a spoonful of cereal into her mouth.

"So where's Justin at?"

"He's up in the tower." Clara took another bite and continued, "I think he's taking care of the radio and any other electronics."

"He's ready to go right?" Daze asked.

"Yep!" Clara wiped the reconstituted milk from her chin, "He'll be down as soon as he hears the rotors!"

* * * *

It was an odd time to be thinking about mortality, at least it was odd to start thinking about it now.

Justin sat in the tower looking out over the valley. He could just see the buildings of Jacinto rising from the surrounding sea.

Justin snapped the cap on his pen and tucked the little folded piece of paper away in his pocket. He hoped Clara would never find it, would never need to find it, but it made him feel better all the same. He wondered how many of his friends had done the same. Did they feel the foreboding that tugged at his throat. It tightened his chest and gripped him with fear, albeit only for a moment, and then the feeling would pass and he was sure that this little expedition would go smoothly.

But he was never completely sure.

Justin saw a small twinkle on the horizon. A King Raven. Justin pulled an old longshot scope out of his pack and eyed the approaching Raven. It differed from the KR's in a few ways, which cemented it as the stranded's one and only known piece of air support, and they all loved it.

There had been a crash outside Jacinto a couple months ago. Out in Swamp Cypress. It wasn't anything spectacular, the Gears survived and radioed for help. The stranded, specifically Daze, had intercepted that call. He headed out with a group of stranded, and an old helicopter pilot named Carl to see if they could fix it up and use it as their own. The damage was minimal and the stranded had it fixed up and ready to go in no time. That was a happy day for everyone. Carl felt like things had at least some semblance of normal, and Daze and the teens had a way to move from place to place quickly.

Justin gazed at the tan and gray KR as it flew toward them. They had painted the underside a strange mixture of cloud gray and sky blue, just to make it harder for the locust to spot them. They had painted the outside a checkering of grays, black, and tan colors to make it less noticeable from the air. Sure the COG didn't try and shoot it down, but they never forgave the stranded for 'stealing' it.

Justin grabbed his pack then turned and rushed into the control room as the sound of the chopper reached him. He started unplugging radios, generator lines, an old seismograph, and even the crappy radar dish they had salvaged from an airport. He ran down the stairs and tightened the valves on the imulsion tanks then threw some tarps on them and ran out the door.

He pulled up his hood and dropped his gnasher into the special holster on his back that he had made for it. Justin wasn't wearing his old chest armor and neither did the other guys. The amount of protection it offered was relatively small, and the extra weight when combined with their winter clothes kept the benefits from outweighing the costs.

Justin shouldered his backpack, adjusting the shotgun to sit comfortably, then walked out to meet Carl who was just setting down outside the fort.

* * * *

"Hey there kids!" Carl greeted Daze and the others enthusiastically as they entered the King Raven, "Gonna be a good day for flying! How are you all doing?"

"We're doing good, how about you?"

"We'll I got to see my family the other day when I made like I was gonna join up," Carl started checking instruments and flicking switches, readying the chopper for takeoff, "I got Jet to sneak in there and tell her I'd be at the barracks to 'consider' the COG proposition. I got to see her and my three boys."

"Bet that was nice," Daze said as he slipped in behind the fifty-cal.

"It sure was! Man, my boys are getting big. You know, I'm gonna have to quite flying this bird and actually join up one of these days." Carl handed a headset to Holly who had just slid into the co-pilot seat next to him, "Momma wants me to stay out of the COG and safe, at least until her baby's are old enough to fight, then she wants me leading them."

"Doesn't sound too bad for when the time comes," Daze remarked.

"Not too bad indeed, I'm looking forward to it." Carl looked back at the teens who were getting buckled in, "You guys and gals ready to go? Got enough food and all?"

Daze nodded, "We have enough nuts and deer jerky to last us for quite a while. We're ready to go."

"All right!" Carl whooped as he lifted the helicopter off the ground and set off toward Jacinto.

Daze looked over at Justin. Custom paint wasn't the only thing the stranded had done to customize their bird. Justin sat with his legs hanging over the edge of the King Raven. He was held inside by a harness, but the object of interest was the troika turret that he controlled on a mechanical boom. The recoil was so much that whoever fired it had to tell Carl beforehand so he could compensate for it.

That baby shredded locust. After the light-mass bomb, the COG had started working with pockets of stranded survivors to eradicate the remaining locust. Daze and the teens had proven quite useful on a few occasions and the COG seemed to take notice. There had been a few modest rewards as well. Food, some clothing, guns and ammo. It was all welcomed. Now they were being called in to reinforce the meager COG forces that were defending Jacinto Med.

Daze looked out over the land underneath him as it went flying by and hoped for the best. The locust weren't nearly as dangerous as before the Light-mas bomb but they were never pushovers, and every time they joined with the COG on one of these eradication missions there was always the chance that something would go wrong.

Daze hoped and prayed this wasn't the time.

* * * *

"Jack! Jack Jack Jack, they're here!" Jet had come flying up the steps all the way to the top of the orphanage where Jack was fixing some shingles, just to tell him something that was readily obvious from the highest point around.

"Thanks for bringing me such entirely unexpected news!" Jack shouted with mock enthusiasm, "I'll run down right now and say hi!"

Jet shrugged off Jack's sarcasm and went flying off down the stairs.

Jack finish pounding in a nail and then grabbed his rifle and headed calmly for the stairs.

As soon as he reached the bottom he was nearly tackled off his feet by Holly.

"How you doing?" She squealed enthusiastically as she hugged him, "You guys been having a fun time fixing this place up?"

"Yeah, fun." Jack shot her a dirty look, "Let's just say I've had about all the fun I can handle for one lifetime."

"Oh it wasn't that bad!" Holly smiled as she let go of him and started for the orphanage.

"Speak for yourself," Jack smiled mischievously, "But we weren't the ones who were hunting deer and making love all day!"

"Well," Holly shrugged, "At least you got to do something."

* * * *

"So," Daze looked around the 'refurbished' living room as they sat waiting for Cather to arrive, "You guys know anything about this 'mission' they have for us"?

"They say it'll be an easy babysitting job," Jack took a drink from a water bottle then used it to fill up a canteen," Cather's a little less optimistic though, says the brass is bringing us in as reinforcements, cannon fodder."

"Ha!" Daze laughed, "I doubt they'd start using us as cannon fodder now, heck, we got more experience than any of their rooks."

"But if they're using the term cannon fodder it might mean we're not just gonna be guarding the henhouse," Susan looked up from where she was disassembling and cleaning her pistols, "We'll need to be careful either way."

"Amen to that," Daze said as he thumbed cartridges into a magazine for his carbine, then slipped it into his ammo belt. "How about you Jet? You got any ammo left for that death trap?"

Jet was pacing back and forth by the wall like a hyperactive child. He wore blue work pants made from some sturdy material. He was wearing some black Stretch-Tite underneath his beat up and sleeveless brown hoodie. He wore a black beanie that covered his ears, yet the top was cut out, allowing his short blonde hair to poke out the top while his dark black googles rested on his forehead.

Jet looked up at Daze's words, "Yeah I got some, they're sitting over there by my scorcher." Jet pointed affectionately. He pulled the pistol from it's holster on his leg and popped out the magazine. He looked at the bullets then slipped it back in with a satisfying clack. He turned his head suddenly as the sound of an engine reached their ears.

"Cather's back." Jack said quietly as he got up and grabbed his hammerburst II assault rifle.

They had started running across the new hammerburst a couple months after the Light-Mass-Bombing of the horde's tunnels. Luckily they still used the same ammo and clip as the first one so he and Jordan could easily swap mags whenever they needed to.

Jack picked up his ammo belt and clipped it on his waist as he started for the door. The others were strapping weapons on and gathering last minute supplies.

Daze hopped up and helped Holly to her feet. She gave him a kiss before picking up her lancer and walking to the door. Daze followed her, stopping at the box of grenades that Susan had set out. He picked out two frags and one smoke then walked out into the sunlight.

Daze looked around the bright and cool morning. Carl was fiddling around with the king raven while Cather was unloading some supplies from the junker.

"How's it going Cather?" Daze asked as he reached out and shook his friend's hand, "We going to have a good day today?"

"I don't know, I think there's more then they're telling us." Cather muttered with a grim look in his eye. The ex-cog had somehow managed to stay in the loop with command, even though he had been labeled a deserter by some of the more self-righteous cogs. Bucking all previous trends, his old squad mate Damon Baird had been one of his staunchest supporters, which had undoubtedly led to his most recent demotion. Even so, Baird would supply Cather with information whenever it was convenient, and he put in a word or two with the brass when extra soldiers were needed.

"Any news from Baird?" Daze asked, grabbing a box and carrying it into the house with Cather.

"None, except some vague hints that something big is happening." Cather set his box down in a closet and moved out of the way while Daze set his on top of it. "We'll need to be careful, otherwise we might get sucked into something that you don't want to be a part of."

Daze shot a questioning look at Cather, but he declined to elaborate, he just walked out the door and headed for the chopper where the others were just getting loaded up.

The enormous Gear stepped up into the King Raven and grabbed onto the handle, then extended a hand and pulled Daze up with him.

"We all here?" Carl asked as the rotors began to spin. Daze looked around at his friends, then hopped into the co pilot's seat as the bird gently lifted off the ground.


	2. Chapter 2: Terror By Night

Chapter Two

Daze looked out of the helicopter as they circled Jacinto Med looking for a place to land. Here and there Gears were running about, some pushing gurneys, others running in groups down the road. An ambulance went whining off down the street as another pulled up and started to unload it's wounded.

Daze gazed out over the ocean, the straight drop to the water below nearly taking his breath away.

"This is SKR-One looking for a place to land," Carl spoke into his headset as he circled, "Got anywhere?"

"Just drop your cargo out front and get the hell out!" A voice crackled back.

"Well yes sir Mr. Dickweed sir!" Carl started his decent towards a spot where three gears had just been standing with a blonde woman.

Cather pointed to the three cogs and spoke with a tone of deep respect, "That man over there is Marcus Fenix. Every man, woman, and child in Jacinto owes him a debt of gratitude."

"Damn!" Jordan whispered under his breath, "You mean he's the one that killed all them locust?"

"Sure is."

"Damn," Jordan whispered again, gazing in admiration at the war hero. "Yo Daze? You think we'll ever be heroes like him?"

"I doubt it!" Daze laughed as he pulled off his headset and placed it in it's holder. "Get ready everyone!"

Daze jumped out as the chopper touched down and ran to the blonde woman who was standing just outside the entrance to Jacinto Med.

"You're the leader?" She shouted somewhat disapprovingly over the noise of the raven.

"I sure am," Daze replied, keeping his head down as they moved into the hospital, "Where do you need my people?"

"Umm," The woman paused and thought a moment, unsure where to put them. She pointed to the Raven, "Are those guns operational?"

"More than operational."

"Then make sure they're manned, and tell your pilot to stay sharp. We might need him." She stopped then gazed upwards as if trying to recall something, "I think I remember Damon saying that you had a sniper in your group?"

"A good one too, do you need a sniper team?"

"We could use another one. Have them set up on top of the hospital's entryway," She said pointing to the covered entryway, "They can help cover our men if they need to evacuate the primary barricade."

"Anything else?" Daze asked.

"Take the rest of your group and head to the primary barricade," She pointed down the street then held something out to Daze. It was a radio ear piece. "Give this to your sniper, it's a priority channel. I'm Anya by the way."

"Daze." He stretched out his hand and shook Anya's, "Now I think we'll be moving along."

"Very well. Tune any com units to channel six," Anya turned and walked to a door then called over her shoulder before leaving, "We'll be in touch."

Daze made a parting wave then walked out the door and headed straight to the King Raven.

"Alright!" He shouted over the roar of the rotors, "Jordan and Jet, you guys are sticking with Carl and providing cover if we need it. Clara and Justin, set up shop on top of the hospital entryway. Everyone else is with me, we're heading to the barricade."

The teens hopped out of the chopper and followed Daze to the barricade as Clara and Justin jumped out and set up their sniper position.

Daze looked around at his friends as they walked. Holly was walking calmly beside him, yet he could see the anxiety in her face. She was never one to show fear, at least not around the others, yet he could always tell when she was worrying about something. Her golden hair still flowed beneath the black beanie she was wearing, still loose, not in the usual ponytail that marked her ready for action. Daze wondered what might be on her mind.

It was unusually warm today, especially for being early winter, late fall on Sera. Daze slowed a little and let Holly pass him. She was wearing a tight grey long sleeved shirt, made of a woolen type fabric that hugged her form. She had taken off her heavy hooded sweatshirt and left it in the Raven, allowing her to move around with less restriction. She wore black thermal leggings designed to keep in heat and to whisk moisture from the skin, over these she wore a pair of tattered patched khaki pants, and around her waist was an ammo belt filled with lancer magazines. Her lancer was strapped to her back, unchanged from the day she had found it, a stark contrast to some of the other's load outs.

Daze looked around with admiration at what the others had done with their weapons. Susan had two snub pistols strapped to her sides, both of which were silenced and fitted with laser sights she had found in an old COG warehouse. Jack was using a lancer that he'd modified himself. He had taken off the chainsaw and also attached a three power red dot sight to it, allowing him a lighter load out and a slight advantage when engaging enemies at range.

Daze looked down at his own rifle. It was the old experimental version of the E-twenty-nine carbine, with a beautiful wooden stock and fore grip as well as the ornate engraving along the metal workings. It was a beautiful gun and fit well with his pistol, which were both the same caliber. Around his own waist was cartridge belt filled with bullets, and at his back were pouches of spare magazines.

Daze's musings were brought to an end as the barricade came into view. It stretched out across the street and was manned by Coalition soldiers in their scarred and dirty armor. Many wore helmets, the surest sign of a new recruit fresh out of basic. Very few of the older, more experienced Gears wore them. They inhibited their vision too much, and all of them knew, or at the very least knew of, someone who had taken a round from a Locust sniper right in the head.

Hopefully the Locust hadn't figured that out as well, cause if the hadn't it meant that the new Gears would act as a meat shield, as much as Daze hated to think about it.

Daze scanned the barricades some more, looking for anyone who might be in command. He saw a young woman with dark hair and tan complexion out at the far right side of the barricade, where it ran up against the guardrail that protected motorists of old from plunging off the cliff into the sea. She wore a dark gray poncho over her slighter Coalition armor, and while she had a lancer on her back, she was actively taking aim with a longshot sniper rifle. Little nods or shakes of the head informed him whether she was successful or not. There were very few shakes. Daze heard a crack from behind him and noticed as the sniper turned her head and looked back towards the hospital, he could see her muttering under her breath.

Daze chuckled to himself as he continued his scan. He saw Gears scattered along the barricade, as well as a few running back and forth from an open APC. He saw them grabbing magazines of ammo and running it to different points along the barricade, from which sporadic firing could be heard. Next to the APC was a Centaur tank. Daze hoped there would be no need for it.

He turned his attention to the center of the barricade. There he noticed a large box, presumably filled with ammo, since every now and then a Gearhead would grab something from it and run off to the other firing Gears. At this center command portion Daze saw a tall Gear with blonde hair speaking into his earpiece. He turned and looked at them, then turned back and finished his conversation. Daze walked up to him and stood waiting, the others standing patiently behind him. The man turned to Daze and looked him in the eye. Daze was struck by the piercing blue gaze, fierce, though not overly hostile. The man stretched out a hand, which Daze shook.

"My name is Seth Marshal." The man said calmly. He pointed to a pair of Gears who were looking out over the barricade, one firing occasional bursts, the other mashing the trigger as soon as each fresh clip was slammed home. "The craggy faced devil over there is Mortis Clay. The one with the itchy trigger finger is Diego. We're Fox squad."

"Good to meet you, my name is Daze Jericho." Daze heard Diego start spitting out expletives as his lancer jammed. He struggled to clear it, then inserted a fresh magazine and resumed firing.

Daze noticed the one named Clay perk up at the name and look round. Marshal's description barely did him justice. His face was cracked and streaked with countless scars, making him look like some grim specter of death. Daze looked the man in the eye and could tell he was being sized up, apparently his father had been some kind of hero and everybody knew him, or had heard of him. Clay finished his inspection with an approving nod then shot Daze what appeared to be a faint, grandfatherly smile, then turned back to the barricades.

"It's nice enough to meet you Daze," Marshal looked off down the barricades to the left, where Daze could see a sparsely populated area of the barricades," Now it's time to get to work. You and your team will take the far left side of the barricade, as well as watching the railway depot. That part shouldn't be too hard, we rigged it with antipersonnel mines, but be careful just incase."

"Got it." Daze made a casual two finger salute then turned to go. "Our com units are set to channel six, just so you know."

"Good, and Daze," Marshal's face twisted into a grim smirk, "Welcome to Hate Street."

Daze nodded then jogged to the part of the barricade Marshal had indicated, the others following close behind.

They reached the barricade and Daze watched with pride as Jack, Holly, and Susan moved quickly to set up their defensive position. There was little talking, and none of the joking that had punctuated their first few "hunting" expeditions with the Coalition forces.

During the teens first real combat experience with Rojas, Cather, Baird and the other cogs it had been a very surreal experience, and Daze and the others hadn't really known how to handle it. There had been lots of joking, and a generally unserious tone, that is till people started dying.

Rojas had barricaded himself in a room to give his squad, and the teens, enough time to escape. It had worked, but at a cost. That was when the teens grew up. After fighting for their lives and then resting for a while the shock of battle eventually wore off, but when they started helping the Cog again, war became serious business. They saw men die, many right infront of their eyes, and it had put a seriousness into them that they couldn't shake, at least not until the adrenaline started pumping.

Daze pulled back the carbine's slide and examined the interior. A shell was resting in the chamber and everything looked to be in order. He let go of the slide and pulled the rifle to his shoulder. It felt good, snug, like an old, comfortable boot. He pressed his eye to the rear peep sight then focused on the post at the end of the barrel. He looked quickly for a target and found a Locust grenadier peeking from behind cover. He settled the front post of the sight on where the Locust's head was bound to be in a moment, then calmed his breathing.

In, then out, then in, then out. He breathed in deeply one more time, then let it out halfway and waited a moment. The grenadier poked it's head from around a piece of cover. Daze gently squeezed the trigger.

The rifle boomed and Daze watched as the bullet tore it's way into the Locust's skull just above the right eye. The bullet carried through, pulling gray matter, bits of skull, and blood along with it.

As the Locust's body slumped to the ground Daze adjusted his aim to a drone that was dashing up to a new piece of cover. The bullet took it in the chest, slamming it back and sending stumbling to the asphalt. It lay in the dirty street, blood pouring from it's wound as it's brethren dashed past only to be cut down by more gunfire.

"Two kills, not a bad way to start the day." Daze mumbled absentmindedly to himself.

"What was that Daze?" Holly looked over from his right, a questioning look in her eye.

"Oh nothing, just talking to myself." Daze smiled halfheartedly. His smile faded as a spray of red broke from over Holly's shoulder. Daze watched as a Gear tumbled backward, a shattered helmet adorning his head. Daze turned back to the barricade with grim determination. He wasn't about to let some Locust bastard potshot one of his friends.

Daze settled into the slow, methodical rhythm of the slaughter. To his right he heard long sustained bursts from Holly's lancer. He could see the occasional tracer rounds flying through the air, and would use her suppressing fire to line up shots on any Locust that dared to fire back. Every now and then he'd see a Locust, torn and bleeding, stumble from cover into the street to die from the wounds Holly inflicted.

To Daze's left there was the occasional burst of lancer fire, but it was far less common than the nearly constant drum of fire from his right. Jack was taking careful aim, using his scope to take out any of the Locust that were dumb enough to walk out into the open, even though they thought they were far enough away from the barricade to be safe.

Susan had run off some time ago and had joined the rooks, who were running ammo to the Gears scattered throughout the line. She knew how to be effective, and her small pistols weren't going to provide much support. Cather too, had disappeared somewhere, probably talking to an old friend somewhere along the line. Either way Daze wasn't worried.

He fired another round at one of the Locust, this one striking the ground just below it, yet sending it diving for cover all the same. Daze sighted down the barrel at another Locust and pulled the trigger. There was an unsatisfying click, letting Daze know it was time to reload. He pulled the empty clip out of the rifle, tucked it into his ammo belt, then pulled a fresh one from the same belt and thrust it home. He pulled back the action and let it go, this time with a far more satisfying click, then started firing once more.

Just as he was reloading for the second time Susan came running up to him with three more magazines and a pouch full of bullets.

"One of the Gears was using an E-Twenty-Nine." She looked solemn, "And he wont be needing these anymore."

"Thanks Susan. You doing okay?" Daze noticed Susan's glistening face and damp hair. He made a slight wave to Cather, who was coming down the barricade towards them. "You look tired."

"We all have to do our part, at least that's what the fascists are saying," Susan nearly spat the word. "I was bringing ammo to this sniper over on the far right side, and when she asked what battalion I was from I told her I was stranded. You should have seen her spit, I thought it would break the concrete!"

"Don't blame that one to hard," Cather spoke as he walked up to them, "She's been through hell and then some."

"Maybe," Susan was working on calming down, "But you'd think she could at least acknowledge that we're people too."

"We've been through some pretty tough sh*t," Cather spoke calmly and easily, "So don't judge too harshly till you've walked in her boots."

"I guess, but it's so..."

Susan was cut off by an explosion from the building next to them.

Daze had been keeping track of the train depot, but hadn't noticed anything unusual till now. He scanned Susan and Cather's faces.

"Must've been one of them mines." Cather had his head tilted to one side. "I was talking to Marshal, and he said that there was one entrance that the locust might have access to, and that they'd mined it up something fierce."

"Looks like we'll have to check it out." Daze looked at the makeshift entrance the Cog's had set up. There was an opening in the wall about fifteen feet above the ground with a rope ladder leading up to it, but besides that the red-brick building had only a couple windows set thirty of forty feet off the ground. "Susan, let's go in quietly."

Susan smiled as she pulled out one of her pistols and tossed it to Daze. He set his rifle down against the barricade next to Holly and gave her a tender kiss on the ear.

"Be careful." Her eyes pleaded with him.

"Don't worry, I'll be back soon." Daze ran a couple fingers through her long blonde hair then moved to the rope ladder. Susan was already at the top and had ducked inside the hole in the wall. Daze reached the top then took a look back. Holly was already firing again, yet it was slower, more controlled, fearful.

He gazed at her for a moment longer, then pulled himself up and disappeared into the opening.

Daze crouched down next to Susan in the half darkness of the train depot, watching the shapes at the far end moving back and forth. He could see the locust were unsure of how to proceed, yet every now and then one would build up the courage, or be ordered by a superior, to make a dash through the minefield. Daze smiled as another explosion shook the depot.

Old rusty train cars littered the yard, and steel catwalks crisscrossed the air above the depot's floor. Tracks ran out of one end of the yard, the end with the locust, and in the center of the depot was a massive loading crane, along with old broken boxes and pallets.

The depot was drenched in shadow and darkness.

"This is gonna be a slaughter." Susan looked over at Daze and smiled while she handed him three extra snub pistol magazines. "Lets go!"

Daze nodded, a huge grin plastered across his face. He pointed forward then jumped over the side of the catwalk and landed easily on the ground. Overhead Susan flitted along the catwalk like a shadow.

Daze fingered the pistol's safety, then sprinted off stealthily between the overturned train cars.

* * * *

The Theron Sentinel's squad had had been charged with finding a way around the human defenses, and just as they had found what seemed to be a promising entrance one of his drones had been blown into a few too many pieces to be of any further use.

The Theron had growled under it's breath and sent another drone into the opening, hoping that the humans had only thought to set a single mine. It growled a few primitive curses as something began to beep, sending the drone scurrying forward towards cover, setting off even more angry beeps, then the grenades exploded and it's body was ripped apart by shrapnel.

The Theron hissed a furious order to one of the drones standing behind it, then settled back to wait for more reinforcements, and hopefully a few wretches. The drones had retreated to one side where they were arguing and grunting and casting lots with crude dice made from human bones. They were deciding who would be next to walk into certain death.

Off a small distance from the drones were the grenadiers and the elites. They waited impatiently, checking grenades and fiddling with their shotguns. In all there were about eleven soldiers under his direct command.

Serkzh the Theron Sentinel was proud of his immediate squad, but the other rabble were starting to get on his nerves. He had a couple of drones who had proven themselves many times, and Gruagk, the monstrous and brutal grenadier had been known to tear human soldiers skulls apart with his bare hands. They were standing behind him, as they always did, while the others were engaged in their own pursuits.

Without warning Gruagk gave a grunt of displeasure, pushed past Serkzh, and walked straight for the entrance to the depot. He was tired of waiting, as they all were, and he stood in front of the giant doorway a moment. Then he walked into the room.

The drones held their breath as Gruagk walked, not running like the others had, straight and steadily past the mangled bodies of his comrades. Just as it seemed there would be no explosion, the beeping started again from his left side. Gruagk raised his left arm to shield his face as he kept walking.

The explosion kicked up dust and sent a spray of red through the air, yet when the dust settled there was Gruagk, his left side shattered and entrails dripping out of a huge gash near his stomach. He calmly took another step forward, then two more, then he turned and growled defiantly at the cowardly drones that stood watching.

There was an eerie shaft of red light that flitted through the dust for a moment, then the point of light at the end of it settled on Gruagk's forehead. A second later there was a gruesome cracking sound and then the light disappeared. A geyser of blood spurted from Gruagk's skull into the air then landed on the ground in a growing puddle. The grenadier toppled over, dead.

Rajik and Krug, Serkzh's two drones dashed into the opening, lancers peppering the catwalks with gunfire.

Serkzh hissed an order to the rest of his soldiers then ran after them, his locust following behind.

They reached the spot where Gruagk's body lay twisted and broken, his blood flowing like a river of death onto the gravel floor of the depot yard. Rajik scanned around the plethora of overturned train cars, pitch black shadows, and high catwalks.

There was a quiet whoosh of air, then something warm splattered against his face. He turned to his left and watched as Krug fell silently to the ground, the right half of his head missing.

Rajik roared with rage and dashed down a wide lane made by a train car and a shipping container resting parallel to each other. Serkzh hissed a quick command to cease as Rajik reached the end of the lane. Rajik turned right, lancer held ready, then turned left.

Serkzh and the other locust watched with something akin to horror as an arm reached out of the darkness and covered Rajik's mouth, jerking his head back as another hand thrust a knife through the back of Rajik's neck and out his throat. The body fell to it's knees then pitched forward onto the gravel.

A grenadier would have run to his aid had Serkzh not ordered it back. Serkzh scanned the shadows. Now the Theron was being more careful, he had already lost his squad, and now he only had four drones and two grenadiers left with him. He heard the whoosh again, then nearly stumbled forward as a heavy weight crashed into him from behind. He jumped forward and let the grenadier's body hit the ground. The drones were getting apprehensive, scanning wildly from shadow to shadow, hammerbursts held ready.

A red dot appeared on the back of a drones head right in front of Serkzh. He kicked the drone forward then pulled the trigger of his torque bow and dove to the side. There was an explosion and dust flew into the air. Immediately the red line appeared, then disappeared almost instantly.

It had been long enough though. Gunfire erupted from half a dozen weapons as the drones turned around fired towards where the light had come from.

The dust was beginning to settle, and the lone grenadier noticed something sitting right at his feet. He bent down and picked up the head of Rajik. There was a tug on the grenadiers belt and he turned to see something dart back into the shadows. The locust fired it's shotgun at the specter then heard beeping from it's belt.

The grenadier looked down just as its grenade went off. The explosion caught two of the other drones and kicked up even more dust, as well as chunks of flesh and sprays of blood.

Serkzh threw himself behind one of the train cars as he looked for his enemy. A drone stumbled up next to him choking and wheezing as the other jumped out from behind a packing container and joined them. He could see the look of dread and fear on both of their devilish faces.

Serkzh filled with rage at the thought of these two soldiers, warriors of the locust, cowering like human children. How little a waste it would be to send one out now to reveal his adversaries position. He pointed out into the open area and commanded the drone to run out into it. The drone hesitated for a split second and then Serkzh grabbed it by the throat and slammed it into the train car, hissing menacingly in it's face. With a final movement, the Theron hurled the locust out into the open.

It stumbled to it's knees for a moment, then pulled itself up and aimed it's hammerburst around that catwalk, scanning every shadow with a quick glance. Serkzh was relieved for a moment, then heard a pained gurgling from behind him. He turned to see the drone on it's knees clutching at it's neck, a hideous gash letting the blood run thick onto the ground. Serkzh roared with fury as he turned and saw the other drone laying lifeless on the ground.

He dashed out into the open and grabbed Krug's lancer, spraying bullets in every direction. There was another whoosh and then a bullet struck Serkzh in the arm. His fingers let the torque bow slip from his hand, even while he continued to fire the lancer at where he thought the shot had come from. Another whoosh sounded as another bullet slammed into him, this time in the body, then there was a volley of shots and his legs gave out, the bullets tearing his knees to shreds.

He propped himself up with one arm as a pair of legs walked into view. There was a ruffle of clothing next to him, and then he looked up into the face of a young human male. The young man walked around him for a second, then picked up the torque bow and slammed one of it's blades into the ground right under the Theron's nose.

"I wonder if you animals can feel fear," The man asked as the other human, a female, started climbing a ladder to the catwalks up above, "Cause right there, I bet that's as good as it gets."

Serkzh roared in defiance, and as soon as he roared, the man stepped down on his back causing Serkzh's arm to give out. He glared in front of him with rage and disgust as he felt the torque bow's blade enter his mouth.

He didn't feel it exit the back of his head.


End file.
